One thing I have noticed is that most of the reviews focus on the more salient, headline grabbing points: 1)Criminals hacked into registries and stole outright electronic carbon credits and 2) through a scam involving Value Added Tax, other Criminals were able to defraud the EU governments out of over 8 billion Euro!​

What the reviewers miss is the story about Connie Hedagaard and how she ignored the VAT "carousel fraud" when she was told early on about it. The point inferred here is that they didn't want any bad PR that would hurt emissions trading.

I was in the carbon market and find it incredibly hard to believe that some investigators let this go on as long as it did.

When I lost my job, it was about six months after the worst of the VAT fraud, but the hacking and selling the credits was still going on. (I lost my job because I found out about illegal dealings and a case of collusion in my employer, brought to my attention because of a carbon theft; call me and I will tell you the whole story so you don't end up trading with these guys in Amsterdam).

It is a very odd thing to be interviewed, filmed and then packaged for a show. I have only recently experienced this in the movie Carbon Crooks to be aired next week in Denmark. When I met Tom Heinemann I could tell he was the kind of guy that uncovered, researched and does in depth interviews to get the story out. In some ways I found it odd how he goes about it, like in his movie The Micro Debt. I didn’t know if it was fully accurate or perhaps maybe exaggerated. But what is really interesting is how the real world of Micro Debt has seemed to disappear. Does a movie have the much power? And when I got called and invited to speak, I was in a position where I had first-hand knowledge of the carbon thefts in Prague in January of 2011. My client had 6.7 million EUR’s worth of emissions trading credits stolen in a Mission Impossible theft. Really, you would not believe it. Around the same time I wrote a few articles, one was for the FT Alphaville (requires free sign in or you can simply download from my website on one of the back pages. See the sitemap at www.danielbutler.eu ) about the missteps made by the architects of the carbon market. And I complained to a few organizations. All for nought. But the thing that bothers me a lot about the whole thing is how it looks like I am going bald. How shallow am I? Dan[...]

Next week will be the premier of a movie by Tom Heinemann about some of the things that went really wrong with Emissions Trading. "Carbon Crooks" to be aired on Danish television and then later, hopefully, in the UK.The VAT "missing trader fraud" that stole an estimated 5 billion EUR a year from the EU. The hacking that stole credits from registries that had the same security as your average Hotmail account.And project offsets that really did little to reduce carbon emissions. I am on the trailer in the first 30 seconds but the brief words I mention make me out to be a typical greedy broker​But my interview, which I have read in transcripts, is fairly simple. I talk about the theft from the registry and the VAT fraudsters that came to my office. ​I also gave the full story of how I was fired because of a series of events that led me to uncover some dirty dealings within my organization. A very factual, true description of the events will be published on the date of the movie premier, on one of the back pages of my website www.danielbutler.eu with the emails showing a very simple fraud. More later. If you like any details about the above, please by all means, give me a ring. The number is on my website. ​Dan​Carbon Crooks Movie[...]

I have created an event on Facebook to invite a bunch of my friends for a boys night out to see the latest Bond movie. Silly, I realize, but useful. However, Only 10 per cent if those invited will attend. Whine....

Hooope, Chaaange, Braaaains! (love that quote) According to a Huffington Post report, CDC spokesman David Daigle set the record straight. "CDC does not know of a virus or condition that would reanimate the dead (or one that would present zombie-like symptoms)."Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-governments-center-for-disease-control-officially-denies-the-existence-of-zombies-2012-6#ixzz1wtrIGaju And then Red State goes on to attack the left with Zombie-like tendencies. Okay, I think there are Zombies on both sides of the aisle. But when I look at the Occupy movement..and this photo, well.... http://www.redstate.com/repair_man_jack/2012/06/04/preventing-the-zombie-apocalypse/ Preventing The Zombie Apocalypse | RedStatewww.redstate.com Whew! That was a close one. No matter what is in the drinking water, I no longer have to worry about impending Zombie Apocalypse. The CDC expends [...]

A friend told me that they are planning a next season. I just cannot get a grip on how they would do that.

Last night I browsed you-tube for interviews and clips of actors and I began to think of how important to the show was ne Mexico. Really, if this show was made in LA (like, for example most shows, such as another hero-bad guy show in the Shield), I do not think it would have done nearly so well.

One major contention for the Iraq War, taking out Saddam, was that he had WMD and that Bush had fabricated 'proof'. Now I am hoping for closure. Vindication.

Why? Because of some information I remember that came out during the lead up to the Iraq War. I recall that Saddam had made a deal to move the WMD to to Syria. Yes, I contend that Saddam had them; and moved them.

And I further contend that Bush was right to take our Saddam because of the "Perp had a gun" scenario. This means that, like the situation where a city cop might have shot a perp (alledged assailant) and they could not find a gun afterwards. This is important because, in the past the perp had a gun and he used it. So if he tells you he has a gun now, and he is going to use it, you have, in my opinion, the right to shoot.

Saddam had biological weapons (gas). He used them. And he was threatening to use them again. So I feel the USA was justified to go in.

But now, I am also hoping they will link the weapons of this story to Saddam when they turn up in some international bazaar. Let us hope that 1. we find them before they are used and more importantly, 2. that more perps with guns are taken out.

Germany has finally arrested a bunch of guys that were committing Value Added Tax fraud with carbon credits. This fraud had really hurt the carbon market and some exchanges have come up short in their efforts to protect against it.

But some enterprising brokers and banks - with poor controls - have now been put in the highly-suspect category, but are still operating.

The OWS movement believes that the riches and most powerful are ruining the lives for the rest of the citizens in the USA. Those at the top have the money at the expense of many, and their capricious gambling, steroid-derivative products, and vampire-like blood sucking has left the body near death. Conservatives believe, well, hey, we are not a feudal society; we are not your overloads preventing you from attaining the position that I hold. You, too, can come and join me on my perch. But it's the cynics like me that say to the 99% OWS crowd, what about the vast numbers of Muslim and Chinese that will soon be ruling the planet. You won't dare pull this line of thinking with them: you will be simply a small number and given no more thought than a marginalized and ignored religion that will be stomped on. You see, the problem here is that the OWS is angy but they are only angry at the USA government when in reality they are drop in the bucket of global circumstances. I will admit, surely, that the financial market lords do indeed hold the responsibility for the latest smackdown. But these same financial powers also deserve the credit for getting us to such a lofty plane of existence. Of course the public is angry that they monster they created, that in turn took care of the creator, has selfishly created a disaster. And now there exists a generation that has not benefited as the previous 2, 3 or perhaps 5 generations have. But considering that the OWS movement is part of a 300 million population - and many Europeans could collectively be joined to this since they too share the blame what with the same produces and similar balloonish behaviour - let us call it an even billion, together we are all less than 20% of the global population. If they are 99% of 15%, they are still only 1/7 th of the world. (And let us be frank for just one second here and realize that the OWS does not reflect the views of the whole 99%. In my view it is more like 30% feel great affinity for what the OWS has to say, another 40% that are just angry at a composite and impotent legislature. But I believe there is a strong 30% that says, these naive liberal and even dangerously radical people are certainly hindering progress. But I digress) Let us look at the real majority of the world's population. Let us look to the growing Muslim population fed by criminally negligent media with incendiary anti-western propaganda, and the vibrant Chinese-dominated Asian communities who have been tempted with a drug of capitalism, looking to score. Does anyone really believe that they are going to take notice of the "99%" in a few years?In a few years time, the powers that be will be, will in fact be massive. And though perhaps unorganized for a few generations, they will be enforcing many of their belief systems in a much faster way. They do not need to wait for the printing press, the slow dispatch of ideas and information. Their dominant views will be there mid century, setting up the new rules. Cannot we at least acknowledge this movement of world civilizations and the need for sustenance and domination, taught over and over again in any place of learning, is going to take place at some time in the future? And if this is even a possibility, wouldn't it make sense to prepare the groundwork for some line of defense, or even a method to slow the approach of age? Should we be building muscles on the body of our livelihood rather than casting it aside and adopting one that does not favor growth, completely? It seems that this evening out of the capitalist system is more important. Let us fight amongst the scraps and become kings of the junk yard, even out the benefits shared by all; throw the a monkey wrench in the machine works of competitve strength that has servied us so well, simply to cast[...]

I like the idea of smart meters. But more thinking needs to be put into it. A perfect Doh! moment. (via Instapundit, via Slashdot. ) http://www.securityweek.com/smart-meters-interfering-home-electronicsSmart Meters Interfering With Home ElectronicsREAD LATER About 200 customers of the Central Maine Power Company recently noticed something odd after the utility installed smart meters in their homes: in some cases other wireless devices stopped working, or behaved erratically. The 425,000 installed smart meters all broadcast in the 2.4GHz frequency range. Unfortunately, so do many of the consumer gadgets we take for granted these days including routers, electric garage doors, fire alarms, clocks, electric pet fences, answering machines, and baby monitors."We have asked CMP to do a better job informing customers about these potential problems, and while CMP's website does refer to the issue, we don't think it goes far enough," said Maine's Public Advocate Richard Davies in an online statement. "My agency is troubled by the possibility that people may be spending their time and money fixing a problem that may be caused by CMP's meters, and that can and should be fixed by CMP."The utility's Web site does include a FAQ addressing interference. Their recommendations are to change the location of the affected electronic device or the channel used by the device. In the case of garage door openers, physically relocating the garage is not an option. In the case of baby monitors, there is often only one frequency choice.The electromagnetic congestion in the home is in some ways similar to the growing electronic congestion in hospitals as they acquire more and more electronic monitors all operating within a few feet of each other. Medical equipment has been known to shut down or give erroneous results when positioned close to another piece of equipment. Such interference is not new, just getting worse--rapidly.As early as the 1940s, there was electromagnetic interference within the home. Radios and TVs broadcast at various frequencies but they were configured to co-exist. The electric vacuum cleaner was not. Nor the electric hair dryer. The worst offender, however, was perhaps the microwave oven, which, even in the 1940s, bombarded food with radio waves at or near the 2.4GHz range. Sensing there would be more congestion in the future, organizations worked to protect radio and TV, while carving out blocks that can be later used for consumer gadgets.The International Telecommunication Union Radiocommunication sector (ITU-R) has since defined whole blocks of frequencies as unlicensed and generally available for Industrial, Scientific, and Medical use. And for a while, it seemed that there would be enough of these to last. While 900GHz and 5 GHz are also unlicensed options, 2.4GHz remains the most popular, offering the strongest signal strength over the broadest area without an unwieldy antenna. Hence most wireless gadgets in the home today broadcast at or near this frequency, including Bluetooth gadgets. That's why you see FCC ratings on blenders.So the trouble with the smart meters is at least understandable. Ideally, smart meters will one day communicate with your washing machine, dishwasher, refrigerator, and other energy intensive devices, allowing you to control energy usage, and potentially off-loading use to times when energy is cheap.However, if the Bluetooth stereo component or the wireless router gets in the way, those energy readings could be wonky, and perhaps the energy savings as well.If a device can't be moved, perhaps it will allow you to change the channel being used. Most devices today default to channel six, but channels one and eleven are also viable options—at least for routers. I recently upgraded the plumbing in my[...]

It was a touching look at the way normal citizens react to being suddenly in the presence of the disabled. Amusing and apt, he puts himself in positions where he experiences doubt and then guilt and ponders over society's outlook on the issue.

Really worth a listen. I suspect, however ,that this will disappear in a matter of weeks.

Last night I saw Source Code. Very good, and Jake Gyllenhaal was perfect in the role. Notwithstanding some obvious plot errors (like what happens to the real boyfriend??), it was great except for one major political problem.

What would you say is the threat comparison between homegrown terrorists (as in the Oklahoma bombing) versus the Al Quaeda versions? 1 to 5? 1 to 1000? Lets now look at the efforts expended by the federal and state governments in terms of budget to police prevent these threats. I don't know the numbers, but its probably close to 1 to 1000.

So now lets look at the number of Hollywood dramas. Now we come way back down to 1 to 5.

They might as well have made the bomber a Russian spy for all the lack of historical significance. Or even due to an alien abduction, for these reports are far more significant than the Oklahoma type threat.

It drives me nuts to think of the stretch that the writers in Hollywood mus reach to simply to avoid accusing a singular group of admittedly small numbers of the whole. Islamic fundamentalist, Western hating types, do not number into the tens of thousands, I think, but they certainly dwarf those of the in country version.

It would be a bit more entertaining if movies would reflect these realities in some movies (along with always making the villain a Republican when we all know both sides have villians)

I realize, of course that taxpayers are often putting money into things they did not necessarily sign up for, like the funding of NPR.

But the union money in Florida seems so direct.

If however, a liberal congress decides that unions need funding, across the entire country, and it becomes a federal issue, I would still be unhappy, but it would have a weighty authorization behind it.

There might be a bunch of conservative causes that receive money in I similar method. Say, for example, the NRA in Idaho or NASCAR in Kentucky.

If a us senator wanted to open a hearing on italian mania groups in america, would he / should he be accused of racism against italians?If an investigation was initiated to research the violent gangs of else salvador, would that paint all central americans in a derogatory color? i dont think so. And the same goes for the hearings onradical islam in america,

Sarah Palin clearly does not like to be told what to do. Not by the Republican party at least. The VP candidacy left an indellible mark that she will never be able to remove. Sarah was mistreated, treated like a nobody. She clearly despises with that role.

We certainly can see the ferocous brand cultivation nowadays, the strength of conviction, and the sheer energy necessary to be in our faces to the ends she believes she deserves: a cozy Oval Office with a rug with the correct inscriptions on it.

Sarah is proud. Sarah is strong. Sarah has a solid base behind her. But, can she be magnanimous?

I suggest that the following she has is certainly a currency to get things done. But the hatred is there, too.

This is why I am asking Sarah Palin to consider the Vice Presidency again.

Its a big ask, but she would do well to take the back seat, if only to win the race convincingly. Perhaps being the co-pilot to Mitch Daniels, for instance.

Fiscally the plans by Mitch would support much of the Tea Party and Palin backers. The cut in spending, the smaller government, all ride well for those that think the government has run wild.

Romney, Gingrich and Huckabee are all non-starters.

Perhaps a deal needs to be made. A Blair-Brown deal, but one that is honored with integrity: Mitch says, "Let me president in 2012, and you have the next shot at it in 2016 - with my unconditional support".

Crazy you say?

But it is something that would work. Face it, its the only thing that could possibly work.